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We can't reduce benefit fraud below £1.2bn, say ministers
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor8 Jul 2008
Ministers were lambasted over benefit fraud today after a top Whitehall mandarin said it was now "impossible" to get losses below £1.2 billion a year.
Permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions Sir Leigh Lewis said fraud and error targets set by the National Audit Office were "unattainable" and the ministry will never recover some of the money stolen by benefit cheats or lost through calculation mistakes by staff.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee said £2.7billion was lost last year - £1.9 billion in errors and £800million in fraud. The error figure has almost doubled year on year, but fraud has fallen. Sir Leigh told MPs: "I regard it as impossible that we will get fraud and error below one per cent (£1.2billion)."
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Chris Grayling said: "It is not acceptable to write off over £1billion every year."
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said: "To write off this level of fraud is staggering when thousands of DWP jobs are being cut. Rather than admitting failure, it should be retaining staff to help prevent fraud."
The DWP insisted that fraud was at an all-time low.
